Spring 2013 Student Poll Results

1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christina Paxson is handling her job as president of the University?

11.9% Strongly approve

32.7% Somewhat approve

48.9% No opinion

5.3% Somewhat disapprove

1.3% Strongly disapprove

2. If you are a sophomore, junior or senior, where did you meet most of the people you currently live with? If you are a first-year, where did you meet most of the people you plan to live with next year? (Circle all that apply)

35.2% First-year unit with me

21.7% Team/student group with me

19.2% Shared classes and academic settings

35.5% Through other friends

10.2% Fraternity/sorority/program house

3.1% Random assignment

8.8% Other (live alone, went abroad, etc.)

7.9% Not applicable

3. Last month the Corporation voted to create a School of Public Health. Do you approve of this decision?

35.9% Strongly approve

29.4% Somewhat approve

22.9% No opinion

3.6% Somewhat disapprove

0.9% Strongly disapprove

7.2% Not familiar enough to answer

4. In the past year, which of the following substances have you used recreationally? (Circle all that apply)

84.7% Alcohol

48.7% Marijuana

25.6% Tobacco

5.7% Prescription painkillers

5.3% Amphetamines (including prescription stimulants)

6.3% Cocaine

9.2% Ecstasy (MDMA)

6.5% Psychedelic mushrooms

4.5% LSD

1.3% Other (including opiates, heroin, PCP, etc.)

0.5% Don’t know

13.1% None of the above

5. Rhode Island should legalize same-sex marriage.

82.3% Strongly agree

8.8% Somewhat agree

5.0% No opinion

1.4% Somewhat disagree

2.5% Strongly disagree

6. If the University offered minors, would you pursue one?

60.6% Yes, and I think the University should offer minors

15.9% Yes, but I do not think the University should offer minors

10.0% No opinion

6.2% No, but I think the University should offer minors

7.3% No, and I do not think the University should offer minors

7. In a typical semester, how often do you attend a varsity sports game?

4.0% More than once per week

6.4% Once per week

7.8% Once every two weeks

13.8% Once per month

22.4% Once per semester

14.4% Less than once per semester

31.2% Never

8. In a typical semester, how often do you attend on-campus extracurricular events in the performing or visual arts, such as plays, a cappella concerts or dance performances?

6.5% More than once per week

12.2% Once per week

20.8% Once every two weeks

34.6% Once per month

15.9% Once per semester

5.1% Less than once per semester

4.9% Never

9. How have your religious views shifted since you came to Brown?

42.2% They haven’t — I did not practice a religion before and I do not now

28.7% They haven’t — I have practiced the same religion with the same commitment

9.5% I now practice the same religion with more commitment

11.9% I now practice the same religion with less commitment

1.4% I now practice a different religion than I did before coming to Brown

1.1% I now practice a religion but I did not before coming to Brown

5.2% I now do not practice a religion but I did before coming to Brown

10. Have you ever had sex (genital touching, oral, anal, vaginal) under these conditions? (Circle all that apply)

53.1% I was intoxicated

7.6% I wanted to say no but didn’t object

13.8% I did not explicitly say yes or no

8.9% I felt obligated to do the same with my partner as before

41.4% My partner was intoxicated

2.6% I hoped my partner wouldn’t say anything

2.0% My partner gave mixed signals about consent

10.9% I assumed we would do the same as we did before

41.2% I have not been in any of these situations

Methodology

Written questionnaires were administered to 1,202 undergraduates March 13-14 in the lobby of J. Walter Wilson and the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center during the day and the Sciences Library at night. The poll has a 2.55 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. The margin of error is 3.9 percent for the subset of males, 3.4 percent for females, 5.1 percent for first-years, 4.7 percent for sophomores, 5.4 percent for juniors, 5.2 percent for seniors, 3.8 percent for students receiving financial aid, 3.4 percent for students not receiving financial aid, 6.46 percent for varsity athletes and 2.8 percent for non-athletes.

The sample polled was demographically similar to the Brown undergraduate population as a whole. The sample was 43 percent male and 56 percent female. First-years made up 25 percent of the sample, 28 percent were sophomores, 22 percent were juniors and 24 percent were seniors. Varsity athletes made up 15 percent of the sample. Of those polled, 44 percent currently receive financial aid from Brown. Students reported all races with which they identify, with 62 percent saying white, 22 percent Asian, 11 percent Hispanic, 10 percent black, 0.8 percent American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.8 percent Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 3 percent other.

Statistical significance was established at the 0.05 level. All reported cross-tabulations are statistically significant.